Do the Math
by Urby
Summary: A series of short fics focusing on pairs or small groups of idols showcasing a variety of different relationships. Part 2: Miki and Iori
1. Azusa and Chihaya

Chihaya showed up to the office stiff and silent, her neck and face swathed in a giant scarf.

"Hello, Chihaya!" said the Producer. "...Is something the matter?"

She did not move or answer for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, her voice was painfully raspy: "Can't...work today."

The Producer flinched in worry. "Are you sick?" The clearly unhappy idol nodded. "Stay at home today then...but you didn't need to come all this way just to tell us that! Why didn't you call?"

Chihaya narrowed her eyes slightly, opened her mouth and made a noise that sounded like a sigh but turned into a cracked croak.

"A phone call would mean a _conversation_," Ritsuko said without looking up from a document she was working on. "Which she clearly can't manage right now."

The Producer hung his head a little and scratched his cheek with a finger. "And I remember you saying you didn't have a good texting plan either...never mind. That was rude of me. Go home and rest, Chihaya. There's no need to rush a recovery, we'll think of something."

Chihaya bowed slightly in thanks and left quietly.

Makoto and Yukiho, who were scheduled to practice with Chihaya that morning, were disappointed when they heard the news. "I hope she gets better soon," Yukiho said, fretting over her hands.

Azusa was passing by and paused. "...Someone is sick?"

"Yeah, it's Chihaya. Producer said she didn't look too good," Makoto said, leaning against the wall.

Azusa put her hand on her cheek and sighed. "Oh my...that's terrible..."

"I know, right? She must have it real bad if she can't even work on the dance routine."

"Yes," Azusa tucked her chin.

* * *

><p>Someone was at the door. Who could be visiting at this hour? Chihaya sat up, cleared her throat and tried to hack up some mucus as quietly as she could, and rose to answer the door.<p>

"Chihaya-chan? It's just me. I came to see how you were doing," Azusa said from behind the door.

Chihaya opened her mouth to respond, but she could not get her voice past a hoarse hiss. So she opened the door instead.

Azusa smiled and held up a bag. "I heard you were sick, so I brought some things that should help!"

Chihaya blinked, then smiled lightly and let the other in. She coughed into her elbow as she closed the door.

"I would've come sooner, but...all the apartment buildings look the same after a while, especially when it gets dark, I couldn't find the right one!" Azusa said as she bustled around the little kitchen. There was a pause. "...Chihaya-chan, have you eaten anything today?"

Chihaya turned around and saw that Azusa's expression had become somewhat stern. It was so surprising that she made no move to answer for a few seconds. Then she looked aside and shook her head.

"You're not going to get better if you don't eat. You do want to get better, don't you?"

Chihaya couldn't explain that eating was the last thing on her mind, so she nodded again.

"I'm going to make you some soup. Just sit tight, alright?"

Chihaya had a seat at the table noiselessly. A warmth kind of like relief tingled in her chest.

* * *

><p>The next day she felt even worse. Her head pounded, her nose was completely plugged up, and her throat like it had been sanded. She stretched to try and wake up a little more, but that made her headache so much worse she curled up and didn't move for hours. When the doorbell rang she almost swore.<p>

"Chihaya-chan? I came to see if you were alright."

Chihaya pushed herself up and saw that daylight was fast fading. She wobbled over to the door and opened it.

"Oh! You look so pale," Azusa said in a hushed voice. "Sit down, I'll get you something. Oh dear...!"

Chihaya sat back down on her bed, scarcely aware of what was going on. Within seconds she was horizontal again. When she next opened her eyes there was a cup of tea on her dresser and a patient but concerned-looking Azusa sitting nearby. Chihaya propped herself up on her elbows and drank out of the teacup haltingly.

"Do you want something to eat?" Azusa asked softly.

Chihaya wasn't sure about that. She tipped her head from side to side. Azusa sighed softly, took the empty teacup to the kitchen, and returned with a small amount of soup in it. It made Chihaya feel substantially better.

"Please try to take better care of yourself," Azusa said gently.

Chihaya opened her mouth to say something, but her throat protested, so she didn't. Instead she pointed at a drawer in her dresser.

"Hmm?" Azusa opened the drawer and took out the single thing inside, an extra key. "Do you want me to take this?"

Chihaya nodded.

Azusa smiled teasingly. "When I tell you to take better care of yourself, I don't mean to make it easier for me to take care of you!"

Chihaya managed to make a noise that sounded like a chirp.

"Don't worry, I don't mind. I want you to get better too. Do you need anything else?"

Chihaya shook her head. Azusa remained a little longer to gently feed her and make sure she took her medicine, then made sure Chihaya was comfortable and left quietly.

* * *

><p>The next morning her throat had cleared up, but a hot haze had taken a hold of her thoughts and sight. She knew her eyes were open, but visions of movement and clouds churned in front of her.<p>

The door opened, which parted the haze for a moment. Chihaya blinked slowly and saw that Azusa was sitting at the edge of the bed. She looked concerned.

"How do you feel?"

Chihaya blinked several more times. No matter how hard or how fast she did so, she couldn't quite get rid of the clouds and that tremendous heat. Even Azusa seemed to warp due to it, even if she was looking directly at her. How could she explain how she was feeling? It was...sort of like she was out of her own grasp. Fluttery.

"I...I am the bird," she managed to say, which she immediately thought of as incredibly foolish.

"Well, if your appetite is any indication, I'd say that's about right," Azusa said lightly, not even disturbed by the silliness of the response. She placed her hand on Chihaya's forehead. "You've got a fever now...but you look a little better than yesterday. I've taken the day off, so you don't need to worry about a thing."

A warmth crept back into Chihaya's chest. Not the fever-heat that made her sweat under her clothes, but something sweet and familiar, like relief.


	2. Miki and Iori

To say that no one expected Ryuuguu Komachi's latest single to be a success was a lie, but no one thought it would have been such a hit. When Iori thought of the heights it had achieved, it made her want to squeal, multiple times a day. It absolutely had to be celebrated. It had to, but the other members had other things to do. Azusa insisted she had to take care of Chihaya, who was sick supposedly, and Ami said she was planning on marathoning a new game with her twin sister that weekend. Iori then asked their producer to see if she was up for marking the occasion with something. Because it was a pretty big achievement. Wasn't it?

"Why don't you ask the other girls in the production? Reach out a little. We're all a part of the same company, you know."

So Iori reluctantly extended her invitation to everyone else. And again, everyone had the nerve to be busy. Well, everyone except one.

"Deko-chan, where are we going?"

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Miki's just wondering. You're being all stony and that's not any fun."

Iori glared out the window and wished the traffic would clear up so she wouldn't be stuck in a car with that other girl for much longer. "We're going to the amusement park."

"And why's that?"

"Because I've never been there and I organized the trip! Do you really need to know everything!"

Mercifully, there was silence. For a bit. "Miki's never been there either."

Iori lifted her head in response, then rested her chin in her hand. "...By the way, I'll be paying for lunch, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Oh boy, this is getting better and better," Miki drummed her hands on her knees. "So what are we doing when we get there? Rides? Games? Sunbathing?"

"...I don't know," Iori sighed softly.

"Okay," Miki said, and distracted herself by counting cars or something.

It being the weekend, however, the amusement park was packed, which made it impossible to find anything to do. Iori had half a mind to scatter the lines and take people's places, declaring herself the leader of Ryuuguu Komachi and daughter of the Minase family and she _deserved_-

"Deko-chan! Bumper cars," Miki said, grabbing a hold of Iori's elbow and dragging her off somewhere.

"What! I don't want to do that," Iori protested.

Miki turned around so suddenly they ran into each other. Her expression was blank, which was actually somewhat intimidating. "If we go right now we can get a turn. But if we wait any longer we'll get stuck in a line somewhere. We should go."

Iori frowned and tried to form some kind of rebuttal.

"You get into a little car and run into other cars. It's fun," Miki said, leaning forward. Iori jerked her body away, almost losing her balance. "It's just about the only time you get to hit people and not get in trouble for it."

"Don't put it that way!" Iori snapped. She caught the bumper car arena announcer calling for two more participants and saw, out of the corner of her eye, a couple that looked like they were making their way towards the arena. "We need to hurry!" she growled, dashing off. Miki didn't make any noise, but kept up readily without releasing her hold. They made it in, breathless, and what followed were two enjoyable minutes of wheeling around and causing miniature accidents. Iori always seemed to be hitting or getting hit by Miki, which didn't matter really.

"Nihihi! The looks on their faces! Everyone parting their way for the cutest of super idols, Iori-chan!" Iori nearly pranced.

"Miki thinks they were afraid of your expression," said the other, striding with an equal amount of happiness. "You looked like you were gonna eat them."

"I did not!"

"You were like, 'roar'," Miki put on a malicious grin. "Just like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Iori whirled around. Her gaze landed on a receding line further away. "...The Ferris wheel looks like it might be a short wait."

"Miki loves Ferris wheels," said the blonde, so they walked over. And soon they were in a little booth rising up.

"Everybody's so itty bitty," Miki said, putting her hands on the glass.

Iori leaned over and watched the park-goers walk by. There was something calming and powerful about seeing other human beings at such a distance.

And then there was this incredibly inconvenient clunk noise and everything stood still.

"_No_," was the first thing Iori managed to force through her teeth.

Miki continued to look out the window a bit, then straightened. "We aren't moving?"

"This thing _broke down_," Iori kicked her feet out in rage. "I can't believe it, I refuse to, this is unacceptable -"

"Hm," Miki flipped her phone open and started messing around with it.

The minutes dragged on. Some people came over to the wheel, maybe to fix it. Iori looked at her own phone. And again. And some more. It came to be that they were there for half an hour. And another. And again.

Iori wanted to cry. Her eyes felt hot with restraint and frustration. Miki crossed the booth and sat by her, which, for all intents and purposes, made everything worse. Iori began to fiddle with Usa-chan's paws.

"Is your bun a boy or a girl?" Miki asked, tipping her head.

Iori snapped her head up, putting her hands on her knees. "What?"

With surprising speed, Miki reached over and plucked the plush rabbit from Iori's lap. It took her a few seconds to realize what just happened. "Hey! What makes you think you can...!"

Miki tilted her head at the doll, letting it twist this way and that. "Miki's always wondered," she said faintly, as if to herself mostly.

Iori lunged to try to get Usa-chan back. Miki dropped the rabbit and it landed right into the gap in her shirt, face down in her cleavage. "Oh my," she said in a teasing tone, fanning herself with a hand. "It looks like your bun is a boy."

"Don't even joke about that!" Iori nearly screamed, snatching Usa-chan back. She stomped to the opposite couch and stuffed herself into a corner. For a few minutes nothing happened. Then there were footfalls on the floor. Iori looked up and saw that Miki was standing and looking out the window.

"The sun is going to set," Miki said. Iori buried her head in her knees. That meant that the day was wasting away. They had barely done anything. They hadn't even eaten, but she was too upset to be hungry.

"Look, there's a guy in a technician uniform. Hey! Hey, fix this thing! Miki's getting really bored!" Miki banged on the window. After a few seconds of this, there was a click and the window swung open on one of its hinges. Both girls squeaked and jumped back a bit, afraid that the window was going to tumble down to the ground, but it remained hinged. It had swung too far to close, though. A light breeze came in.

Iori sighed and shifted. Miki leaned her head out the window, then put her hands out of it and waved them around. "Whoo! Deko-chan, come here and drag your hands through the wind."

"I don't want to."

Miki turned back with an exasperated expression. "At least get out of your little corner and look at the sunset. It's really pretty."

Iori remained seated in defiance for a bit, but finally rose. The sky had taken on a rich set of colors, and from their booth way up high, it felt so much closer and accessible. She reached out as if to try to catch some of it.

"See? It feels good," Miki said.

"Hm," Iori said as an answer.

Miki looked down at the ground again, then back up to the sky. She took in a deep breath and shouted into the wind, trading melody for volume: "_Good-bye memories, fluttering in the spring wind; In this sunny spot I'll overcome this miracle I spent with you!_"

"What on earth are you doing!" Iori felt her face flush. She tried to pull Miki back into the booth, but the other girl kept leaning out. Iori _really_wished that nobody was watching them right now.

"I'm practicing!" Miki said. "_Good-bye daily life_...you should try it too!" she turned her head back towards the other. She moved over to let Iori have room to lean out as well.

Iori stepped forward, looking down at the people below. Nobody seemed to be looking up and laughing at them. ...So nobody had noticed. She felt disappointed actually, which was surprising.

"_One day the fragments of my thoughts will pass by_..." Miki shouted again.

Iori squinted at the setting sun for a bit, then filled her lungs with as much air as she could and cupped her hands around her mouth. "_Shine Shine Shine, I am Diamond! Shine Shine Shine, we are Diamond!_"

"_The reason I keep running is so that they'll stay strong!_" Miki shouted in response, her mouth open in a grin.

"_Shining light, sparkling light; This heart is aiming for number one...!_"

"_My beloved honey, you're like a strawberry..._"

"That's not even the same song, you dunce!" Iori said, hitting Miki's arm.

"Miki can't remember the rest," the blonde flopped over on one of the couches. "Aaah, Miki can't sing anymore. So thirsty."

Iori continued to watch the sunset in silence. Suddenly there was a lurch and the wheel was turning again. "Finally," Iori said, though not with as much relief as she had expected.

"Aw. Miki was just about to take a nap."

Iori reached out for the sunset again in a melancholy way. "The crowds are dying down. We can find some more rides and then you can have your nap on the car ride back."

"Mmkay," Miki got up and leaned on Iori, grasping her in a sleepy hug. "Lead the way..."

Iori could have protested, but she decided not to.


End file.
